Control stick for aircraft



April 27, 1943,

J. sKULKETY CONTROL STICK FOR AIRCRAFT Filed nec. 4, 1941 Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNHTED STATES PATENT I 2,317,813 j l coNTRoL s'rIeK Fon Afnemer Joseph skulkety, Trenton, N; Lr. AISI-ligation December 4, 1941, senin. No. 421,664 2 claims. (el. 244-83) This invention relates to a novel control stick for aircraft and more particularly to a control stick formed of telescoping sections which are Slidably and rotatably connected, and which are provided with means for detachably connecting the sections, so that the upper, handle carrying section can be removed if desired.

Still another aim of the invention is to provide a control stick of the above described character in which the upper section is provided with an oiset remote or upper portion, forming the handle thereof, having means arranged so that when the stick sections are assembled said oset portion will be disposed to project, from the longitudinal axis of the stick, in a direction toward the pilot.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein:

Figure l is a side elevational View, partly in section, of a portion of the stick, constructed in accordance with the invention, Showing the stick sections connected,

Figure 2 is a similar View of a modified form of the invention showing the stick sections disconnected, and

Figure 3 is a cross sectional View of the control stick taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3 3 of Figure 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the different views, I designates generally a portion of a control stick, as shown in Figure 1, including the parts thereof constituting the invention. The control stick I is formed of tubular sections II and I2. The upper or inner end only of the lower section II is illustrated and it is to be understood that the opposite end thereof, not shown, is intended to be connected in a conventional manner to the mechanism of an aircraft which is operated by a control stick. A disk I3 is secured in the upper or inner end of the section I I by means of welding, as seen at I4, and the disk I3 is provided with a central opening I5. A nut I6 is secured to the under side of the disk I3 by welding I1. The threaded bore of the nut I6 is disposed in alinement with the opening l and is smaller in diameter than said opening. The upper section I2 is larger in diameter than the section II and its lower end is adapted to slidably and turnably engage the upper end of section II.

The upper section I2, near its lower end, is provided with circumferentially spaced ope'riirig.siy I8'-. A disk ILS-is disposed -inthese'ction I-2 and isxedlly secured theretov by being welded, as 'seen at 20,'y

through the openings I3. The disk I9 is provided with a central opening 2| through which extends the threaded shank of a bolt 22, the head of which bolt is disposed on the inner or upper side of the disk I9 and secured thereto by welding, as at 23. The opposite, upper end of the section I2 is provided with a handle 24. A collar 25 is disposed around the section II, near its upper end, and is provided with openings 26 for receiving welds 21 by means of which it is xedly secured to the section II.

The shank of the bolt 22 is sized to engage the threaded opening of the nut I 6 and to loosely extend through the opening I5 so that after the adjacent ends of the sections II and I2 are connected they can be slid inwardly relatively to each other until the shank end of the bolt 22 engages the nut I6, after which by turning the section I2 in one direction the bolt 22 will be screwed into the nut I'I to advance the section I2 onto the section I I, until its lower end engages the collar 25. To detach the stick sections, section I2 is turned in the opposite direction until the bolt 22 disengages the nut I6, after which it is to be drawn upwardly and detached from the section II.

In Figure 2, a slightly modified form of the invention is illustrated, wherein the control stick Illa is formed of sections Il and I2a. The section I I of the stick Illa corresponds with the section Il of the stick IG. The section I 2a, differs from the section i2 only in that it is provided with an intermediate oblique portion 28 for offsetting its upper end 29, which is provided with a handle, not shown, from the longitudinal axis of the stick Ia. In order to connect the sections I I and I2a so that the offset upper end 29 will project in the correct direction from the longitudinal axis of the stick Illa, that is, in a direction toward the pilot, the sections II and I2 are connected by the nut IS and bolt 22 before the collar 25 is secured to the section I I. After the sections are connected, the section I2 is positioned so that its end 29 is correctly disposed, and the collar 25 is then positioned against the lower end of the section I2a and secured by welding to the section Il in the same manner as previously described and as shown in Figure 1. Consequently, the sections I l and I 2a can be connected and disconnected and when assembled end 29 will always be correctly disposed.

Various modifications and changes are conteme plated and may obviously be resorted to, provided they fall Within the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims, as only preferred embodiments thereofY have been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

1. A control stick for aircraft formed of te1escoping inner and outer tubular sections, a disk secured in the upper end of the inner tubular section and provided with a threaded opening, a threaded bolt xedly disposed Within andconcentric of the outer section and having its threaded shank and engaging the threaded opening for.

detachably connecting the stick sections, said sections being turnably and slidably connected for connecting and disconnecting the bolt anddisc, a

collar secured around the inner section to be en" gaged by the end of the outer section Which engages over the inner section, for limiting .the movement of the sections toward one another, the opposite end of the outer section being offset relatively to the longitudinal axis of the stick, and said collar being located` so that, when the ,tions being turnably and slidably connected for connecting and disconnecting the bolt and disc,

said outer section having circumferentially- Y .spaced openings, a disc disposed in the outer section and secured thereto by welds, disposed in said Y openings, Asaid last-mentioned disc having an opening through which the bolt extends, and the head of the bolt being Welded to the last-mentioned disc.

JOSEPH SKUIKE'IY. 

